CRACK!

Boat building is a contact sport. So, with the forward port bottom planking in place, I started working on the starboard side, and figured it to be quick work. After touching up the edge along the keel, as well as the transition point, I began dry fitting it. Placing a few screws here and there, I secured the planking to the boat, moving aft to fore. Things were great until I got just past the stem transition point. Having failed to properly fair the stem just forward of the transition point, the wood had no place to bend. As I bent it, it bent back. Well, not really bent so much as cracked. Here's a picture of it, after it's in place, though the crack is still apparent:

After it cracked, I freaked out, took a timeout, and then went back to figure out where the problem was. After identifying the problem, I went back and did some more fairing. Although the picture doesn't look like it, the planking now sits essentially flat at that point. I filled it with epoxy as much as possible, and it will be strong enough to withstand any problems, especially after it gets the fiberglass treatment. There will be plenty of fairing to be done on the boat before fiberglassing, and this will be an obvious point needing attention.

Notwithstanding that faux pas, Jen and I were able to secure the starboard piece yesterday. There are a few gaps that will have to be filled, especially along the keel and a bit at the stem. Here's a picture of it at this point - it's nearly a boat!



Following are a couple other points of interest -

Here's a picture of the transition point on the chine - the aft material will be planed down this weekend:



Here's a picture of the transition point on the stem - this will also be planed down:



So that's where things are at this point. The next step is to prepare the boat for fiberglassing. Then I'll fiberglass it and paint it, and then (finally) it can be flipped over.